


Catching Excellence

by Zivitz



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: Babyfic, Gen, Kidfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28031709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zivitz/pseuds/Zivitz
Summary: "She needs a name."
Relationships: Donna Paulsen/Harvey Specter
Kudos: 27





	Catching Excellence

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first Named Baby. Normally I like to leave it up to the imagination, but this particular baby has been around a few ficlets and I thought it was time to introduce her properly. Other fics in this mini series include Life Divine, So This Is Love, and The Key To All Heaven.
> 
> "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

“She needs a name.”

“She’ll have one, eventually.”

Harvey stopped at the far end of the room and glared at his wife. “She needs a name,” he repeated, and resumed his pacing.

Donna shifted the baby slightly, checking her latch and running a hand over her downy head. They’d been home almost two weeks and still hadn’t agreed on name- and it was getting to him, apparently. Instead they called her ‘princess’ and ‘sweetie’ and ‘the baby’ and ‘her highness’ and variations on any pet name they could think of because there was no one word big enough to mean this little creature who’d stolen their hearts.

“For God’s sake, Harvey, sit down. You’re being ridiculous.”

He sighed heavily and sat down next to her on the couch as she changed the baby from one breast to the other. “It’s bothering me,” he said.

“I hadn’t noticed,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I can’t believe we haven’t decided on anything yet.” He reached a hand over to cup his daughter’s head as she grunted and sighed.

“Well, maybe if we hadn’t taken so long to get together, you wouldn’t have so many exes whose names we can’t use.” That had been one of the rules- nothing that reminded them of anyone they’d dated. Except they found they were having a girl and that made things a lot more difficult, because Harvey had quite the extensive list of former lovers.

“Maybe we _could_ just name her after our mothers,” he sighed. That had been another- not giving their child another person’s name. She was going to be her own person, not someone weighed down by the history of someone else’s name.

“Absolutely not. I love my mother, but she doesn’t need that kind of ego boost. And if we named her after yours but not mine there would be no end of drama.”

“And I don’t really want to give her my mother’s name, either,” he agreed. “Too much...” he waved his free hand, and Donna nodded in understanding.

“I get it.”

Harvey leaned his head on Donna’s shoulder and they stared at this sweet stranger they were just learning. “What is your _name_ , baby girl?” he whispered.

“We’ll find something,” she said, handing the baby to her husband to burp and tucking herself away.

“It can’t just be _something_ , it has to be _perfect_. It has to be _her._ ” He bounced slightly in his seat, patting the baby firmly on the back. “Why do we know too many people,” he complained, and Donna laughed as she left the room.

H e lay his head back against the couch as he patted, scanning his brain for names and only coming up with the same ones they’d both rejected for one reason or another. “Maybe we should get the list out again,” he called. There was a muffled reply in the distance and then the baby burped down the side of his arm. 

“Oh, gross. We gotta at least _try_ to aim for the cloth, baby.” He put her in the bouncer at his feet and used the burp cloth to wipe the worst of the mess off his skin. The shirt wasn’t too bad, he decided upon further inspection. She’d managed to miss most of it and he was far too tired to bother about a bit of spit up. Looking down, he saw his daughter surrounded by sunlight as it slanted across the floor in the early morning. She squirmed slightly, stretching arms and legs still bent from months in tight quarters, and his first instinct was to scoop her up against any discomfort she might be feeling.

Then she smiled.

Not a real smile, of course, he knew that wouldn’t come for weeks yet. But oh, the look of that smile on her little face was so perfect it made his heart hurt.  Her expression changed, going through so many emotions he knew she couldn’t possibly feel yet, and he stood there amazed at this person they’d created. When she started to whimper he did  pick her up, nestling her in the crook of his arm and running a few fingers through those few reddish gold strands clinging to her head. He knew Donna was less than impressed with her daughter’s hair colour but he honestly couldn’t have been happier. He’d sometimes pictured what his child would look like if he’d ever have one.

For the last fifteen years, it had only ever been a redhead.

He rubbed at the baby’s scalp, enjoying the look of relaxation on her face and the way her eyes rolled back into her head.  He  frowned as his fingers hit a rough patch. “ Donna?” he called.

“Yeah?” She appeared in the door with two cups, and the smell of coffee hit him full force.

“Something’s wrong with the baby’s head.”

“Wrong?” Donna placed the cups on the coffee table and came to look. She inspected the area he pointed out as he inspected her, taking a moment to enjoy her new curves and the way she filled her nursing bra. Looking was as much as he was likely to get for the next month and he wasn’t about to waste the chance.

He lifted his eyes as he felt her gaze on him. “What?”

She raised a brow. “You done?”

He grinned lasciviously. “Never.”

“Well,” she said, rolling her eyes, “you’ll be pleased to know it just looks like cradle cap.”

Harvey glanced at the baby. “Cradle cap?”

“It’s basically dandruff for new babies.”

“Oh.” He paused. “She likes sunshine and has scales. Are you sure we didn’t have a lizard?”

“She did kind of look like a lizard at first.”

The baby, unaware she was being insulted, threw her slightly scaly head back in a massive yawn. Harvey turned his face away. “Phew! She even has lizard breath.”

“Technically that’s just sour milk.”

“Whatever,” he smirked, rubbing a thumb over the baby’s brow. “You’re just gonna be Daddy’s little lizzie lizard breath.” He stopped and looked at his wife.

Donna shook her head. “What?”

“Elizabeth,” he said. “Her name is Elizabeth.”

“I don’t know, Harvey. That’s Rachel’s middle name, and we said-”

“We said that when we didn’t have a two week old baby with no name. And you know it was on the list.” 

And it had been, rather high up before Donna made the connection with Rachel. Donna hesitated. “So was Georgia.” 

Harvey shook his head. “Look at her. Doesn’t she look like a Lizzie to you?” 

As if on cue, the baby opened her eyes and looked at her parents, blinking slowly. 

“Are you, baby?” Donna asked, trailing a finger down her daughter’s arm. “Are you a Lizzie Specter?” The little hand wrapped itself around her mother’s finger. “I did really like that name,” she said softly.

“Rachel’s going to be her godmother, but it’s not her first name so she’s not really being named _after_ anyone... She’ll just share it.”

“You really like it,” she said with wonder. 

He looked down at his daughter, tucked safe in his arms. “I really do.”

“And you’re not just saying this so you can call her Lizard Breath.”

Harvey laughed softly. “Not  _only_ .” 

Donna punched his arm lightly, causing the baby to startle. “Sorry, sweetie. Daddy’s being a dick.”

“Hey!”

“What about a middle name? Does she need one?”

“Paulsen,” he said promptly.

“What?”

“If she has my name, she should have yours, too.” They’d talked about hyphenating their child’s last name, and had long since decided that it would just be easier to be a Specter than trying to fit both last names on a form. But it didn’t sit right with him and she knew it.

Donna softened. “Harvey...”

“It’s only fair, Donna,” and the look in his eyes was enough to make her fall in love with him all over again. The baby between them was rolling her eyes back in her head, tummy full and snuggled close in Harvey’s arms.

“Is that it, then? Elizabeth Paulsen Specter?” The baby opened her eyes once again, blinking up at them with a frown. 

He rubbed his hand over her scalp once again and she grunted contentedly, closing her eyes. “I don’t think she likes being disturbed. It’s okay, Lizzie, you can sleep. Daddy’s here.”

And Lizzie Specter slept.


End file.
